Man has spent much of recorded history devising new methods of fastening objects to one another. Devices ranging from simple ropes to elaborate and complicated fasteners have been developed to meet the joint goals of absolute security when fastened with utmost ease in fastening and unfastening.
When rope has been employed as a fastening agent, inventive efforts have been expended in devising knots for tying the rope and also in devising fasteners or cleats to which the rope may be attached. Various fasteners of many types may be found in the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 85,612 granted to Phillips et al in January of 1869; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 962,675 granted to Sims in June of 1910; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,968,935 granted to Fisher in August of 1934; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,847 granted to Miller et al in July of 1939; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,815 granted to Schultz in October of 1948; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,862 granted to Buehl in June of 1950; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,343 granted to Ronsheim in May of 1963; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. b 3,473,505 granted to Brown in October of 1969; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,032 granted to Gilliam in February of 1972; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,203 granted to Matthews in April of 1976; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,532 granted to Feder in April of 1978; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,194 granted to McLaughlin in November of 1979.
While all of these patents disclose various cleats which are useful for interacting with ropes, none of them have the security, speed and simplicity that would be most desirable in a fastener for use in combination with a rope.
U.S. Pat. No. 966,297 granted to Bart in August of 1910 discloses a three lug line holder which can be adjusted to accommodate various thicknesses of ropes by use of inserts to vary the distance that the plate is separated from the deck or whatever the device is attached to. Each of the lugs abuts against the base of the device to form a right angle.
In a more ornate version, U.S. Pat. No. 986,014 granted to Krenzke in March of 1911 discloses a rope hitch which uses a flat plate and a tongue has a tapered or jam type cleat. The device includes two ears on the side of the cleat so that tension on the rope forces the rope into the tapered or jam cleat.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,778 granted to Humble in January of 1918 discloses a transverse V-shaped slot, like a tapered cleat, at right angles from the frame. The outer hooks are designed to alter the path of the rope so that it deviates from a straight line. Similarly, the transverse V-shaped slot is canted at an angle from the line of straight rope travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,810 granted to Emery in November of 1976 discloses a jamming cleat where the cord is held between a V-shaped groove such that the walls are formed with a ridge sloped in such a way that the greater the load on the cord, the more securely the cord is held in the groove. On each wall of the V-shaped cleat, at least one ridge is formed which extends from the trough of the groove toward the head at an angle of between 20.degree. and 50.degree. with respect to the trough. The theory behind this ridge is that it assists in forcing the cord further into the groove when tension is placed on the cord.
The foregoing patents were located in a preliminary seach. Applicant and those in privity with him know of no closer prior art than that set out above; and they know of no prior art which anticipates the claim made in this application.